Combination coin control



Jan. 12, 1954 M. CARUSO COMBINATION COIN.CONTROL Original Filed Dec. 26,1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Mew (Air/J0.

ATTORNEY Original Filed Dec. 26, 1946 Jan. 12, 1954 M. CARUSO 2,665,791

COMBINATION COIN CONTROL' 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR MIIQ/a 6421/.1'0.

BYW

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 12, i954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,665,791COMBINATION coin CONTROL Mario Caruso, Maplcwood; N Q J assignor toc-Eight Laboratories, Newark, N. J.

Original application Decembergij, 1946, Serial No.

718,529. Divided and this application Deceniher 1947, SiiaLlNo. 790,844

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates broadly to coin-open ated vending machines, andespecially to a mechanism controlled by coins inserted in such vendingmachine, and represents one of the divisions or a co-pehdi-ngapplication Serial No.

718,529 for Vending Machine, filed by applicant ,eration of said unit,a" coin retainer for ternporarily holding coins passed through the coindefining unit and a coin release operative by a suitable mechanism forautomatically discharg ing' coins from" the retainer into a coinreceptacle in payment for m handise delivered by the machine, andwhereinmeans are provided for manually operating s'uc'li coin releasefor the purpose of returningcoins when a purchase of merchandise is not"desired.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a coin control forvending machines a coin defining unit adapted for the reception andthepassage therethrough of coins deposited in the machine, and whichcoin defining unit is equipped with a plurality of individual switches,each having at least one movable resilient switch member, and'with whichlatter member abuts a pivotally suspendeddielectric actuating element orcam against which normally bears said resilient switch member, therebyholding the cam in inoperative position, and from which cam thereextends a lever arm into passages provided in the coin defining unit forcoins passed theretlirough, and which lever arm is disposed in thepath'of such dropping coinsand is adapted to be momentarily depressedand to immediately revert to its original position, whereby said cam ismomentarily operated and causes the; closing of its respective switchand the immediateopening thereof when the cam reverts to itsnormalposition.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a coin counterelectrically connected with the coin defining unit and which coincounter is; adapted to be operated'eachtime one of the switches 01% thecoin-defining unitisaclosed erated in one direction by a 2; by a.dropping coin, said coin counter being adaptedto compute the number ofcoins or coin units passing through the coin defining unit and to closecertain electric circuits, independent of the circuits connecting thedefining unit with the coin counter, depending upon the amount of coinspassed through the defining unit, said in-E ependent circuitscontrolling the price of the different merchandise and the release fromthe vending machine of the merchandise.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in conjunction with acoin defining unit, a coin retainer provided with a coin release, andwhich release is 'adapted to b'eautomatically 0p; driven mechanism ofthe machine for depositing coins in a coin receptacle when merchandiseis delivered from to be electrically operated in the machine and Iopposite direction by amanual control forthe purpose of returning coinsfrom the machine.

when no purchase ofmerchandise is desired! The foregoing and numerousother objects and additional advantages of the present invention will bemore specifically evident from the ensuing description in conjunctionwiththe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevation of a portion of a vending machine disclosing acoin defining unit with the exterior wall of the nickel guide channelpartly removed, a coin retainer and a coin release;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the dime guide portion of the coindefiningunit;

iiigiB is a fragment'altop view of the coin re f tamer, partly insection, taken on line 33 of Fig. l

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of a complete coin" defining unit andincluding the coin retainer and coin release, shown partly inverticalsec-' tion;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical illustration of the electric connectionsbetween the coin defining unit, the coin counter and the coinrele'ase,including price-controlling circuits governed by the coin counter;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the coin counter disclosing a portion ofthe manually operative coin return mechanism and the upper; corre thecoin defining-'- unit, while numeral H 3 cates the coin retainer andnumeral I 2 the coin release. The coin defining unit IE3, as shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 4, is composed of two adjacent sections of which theouter section I3 is designed for the reception of one coin denomination,such.

as a nickel, while the rear section 14 is intended for the reception ofanother coin denomination, such as a dime. Each of these sections isprovided with an independent coin-receiving and coin-guiding channel i5and 46, respectively, as clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2, through whichpass coins deposited in the vending machine until they emerge at thebottom and fall into coin retainer ll. Channels l5 and 16 have sideenlargements ll, 18 and 58', respectively, the purpose of which willbecome presently evident.

Exteriorly to front section it for the reception of nickels there willbe seen a two-pronged switch mounting it, having a relatively stationarycontact member 29 and a movable contact member 2|, both members beingresilient. In abutment with contact member 2% is a cam 22 provided witha fiat surface 3 against which latter contact member 2! exerts pressure,thus retaining the cam in its normal position indicated in Fig. 1. Cam22 is pivotally mounted at 24 in a bracket 25 which is adjustablysuspended at 26. By adjusting and thereupon fixedly positioning bracket25, not only the amount of pressure exerted by contact member 2! againstcam 22 may be altered, but also the proximity to one another of contactmembers so and 2E, and thus the setting of their contact points atdesired distances is facilitated. The proper cooperation between cam 22and contact member 2 I, the amount of pressure exerted by the latteragainst the cam, and the correct distancing of the contact pointsgoverns the sensitivity, the speed and the exactness in operation, inshort, the overall efiiciency f the coin-defining unit. Extending fromcam 22 at substantially right angles to the cams flattened surface 23 isa lever arm 21, which projects into channel 55 in the vicinity ofchannel enlargement i'i. Lever arm 2'! is disposed in the path of coinsdropping through channel [5. A dropping coin is indicated in brokenlines at 23 in Fig. 1. When a coin, such as a nickel, is caused to dropthrough channel i and reaches enlargement ii, it depresses lever arm 21whereby cam 22 is so tilted that the lower end of its flat surface 23moves switch contact 2| against switch contact it] until their contactpoints abut. The passage of the coins through the channel of course is arather rapid one. Thus when lever arm 2? is depressed by the coinsweight, such depression is momentary, and immediately after the coin haspassed arm 21, contact 2| causes cam 22 to immediately revert to itsnormal position shown, whereby the contact points become separated.Enlargement 11 provided in channel i5 is designed to facilitate theoperation of lever arm 2? when momentarily depressed by a dropping coin,and provides clearance for the coin on its way into coin receiver II.The moment the coin passes lever arm 2'1, the latter immediately revertsto its normal, horizontal position, toward side enlargement 11.

Fig. 2 illustrates the dime receiving section of the coin defining unit.Channel it, in which a dime is indicated at 28, is enlarged at twoplaces I8 and i8. Secured to dime receiving section 14 are two switchmountings 2t and 39 from which depend, respectively, relativelystationary switch members 3! and 32, and movable members 33 and 34. Withthese latter switch members abut cams 35, constructed in the same manneras cams 22, and being held in their normal, full line positions by theresiliency of movable switch members 33 and 34. They are again pivotallymounted at 24 in brackets 25, which are adjustably secured at 25 to dimereceiving section 14. Extending from cams 35 are lever arms 36 whichproject into guide channel l6 opposite enlargements l8 and I8. Theoperation of lever arms 35, cams 35 and switch members 33 and 34 is thesame as described in connection with Fig. 1, with the exception thatwhen a dime is inserted it has to pass two cam-operating arms 36,whereby switches 29 and 3B are successively closed and opened, one afterthe other.

It is to be noted that channels 55 and [6 of the nickel and dimereceiving sections in the coin denoting unit approximately correspond tothe dimensions of the respective coins, whereby a more positive actionof the switches and a more accurate identification of the coins fallingthrough the channels is effected, as compared with similar deviceshaving but a single, onedimensional passage for coins of differentdenominations.

C'oin retainer and coin release Referring again to Figs. 1, 3 and 4,coin retainer H comprises a funnel-shaped structure which is open at thetop as well as at the bottom. The bottom opening is kept normally closedby a swinging closure 3i. This closure comprises a perforated disc 38,hinged at 39 and counter balanced by a weight 4%, provided with a stopelement 48'. This weight normally retains disc 38 in closing position asshown in Figs. 3 and 4. However, when one coin or several coins areplaced upon disc 38, the added weight causes the disc to automaticallyswing downwards, there by releasing the coins, whereupon the discimmediately reverts to its normal closing position.

Below disc 38 there is pivotally mounted at 4! a coin-directing vane 42which is normally held in vertical position directly beneath disc 38.Vane 42 is preferably provided with an antifriction roller 43, which,when the vane is at an. upright position, will engage the bottom face ofdisc 38, thus preventing the latter from tilting downwardly even thoughcoins may rest thereon. The vane is adapted to swing within a limitedarc in either of two directions, its swinging movement being induced bya specially designed mechanism, the construction and operation of whichwill be presently described. The function of the vane, when operated, isto first release disc 38 supporting coins dropped thereon and then todirect the released coins either into a coin receptacle in payment formerchandise, or into a chute for the return of coins when the purchase IOf merchandise is not desired.

The mechanism for operating vane 42 consists V of a substantiallyT-shaped lever structure 44 pivotally supported at 45 at the exterior ofthe coin defining unit. The depending long lever portion 44 has abifurcated end 46 which engages a pin 4'! extending from vane 42 throughan arcuated slot 41. From the pivot of lever structure 44 there projecttwo side arms 48 and 49, arm 48 constituting an armature for a soleandfor guiding and directing them into the coin return of the machine.Lever arm 49 is held in a substantially horizontal, balanced positionbetween two pivoted auxiliary or balancing arms 5! which are urgedtowards each other and against arm 49 by a tension spring52 mountedbetween pins 53, which latter bear against lever arm 49, thus holdingthe lever 44 in its normal, inactive, vertical position indicated.

When, after delivery of purchased merchandisc, the coins in paymenttherefor are to be retained by the machine, vane 42 must be -operated todeliver coins into a coin receptacle. In order to accomplish that,thevane must be swung in left hand or anti-clockwise direction. It firstreleases the coins from platform 33, causing them to drop onto the vane,which latter then directs the coins into a coin box. This anti-clockwisemovement of the vane i-s producedby the clockwise movement of lever 54.That movement of the lever is induced automatically by a' power drivenmechanism which is a part of the vending machine and which operates -abell crank 54, pivoted at 55. From the end of the shorter bell crank armextends a pin 56 adapted to engage the depending leg 44 of lever 44,when the longer arm of bell crank 54 is swung by the mechanism in upwarddirection, as indicated by the arrow I. Lever 44 is thus swung inleft-hand or clockwise direction, and causes vane 42 to swing to theleft. When bell crank 54 is released by the power driven mechanism, itwill revert to its normal position shown in Fig. 1, thus causing lever-44 to also assume its normal vertical position. Bell crank 54 is heldin its normal, inactive position by a suitable supporting pin 51extending from the casing of the coin adding unit. The power drivenmechanism for operating bell crank 5 1 is diagrammatically and onlyfragmentally indicated at 54 in Figs. 5 and 6.

Coin counter Referring to'Figs. '5, 6 and '7, the coin counter comprisesa disc-shaped, dielectric rotary member 58 provided at a portion of itsouter periphery with a plurality of ratchet teeth 59. It is jour- 'naledon a pin or shaft .60, about which latter is wound a coil spring 6| soengaging rotary member 58 as to induce it to normally turn inanticlockwise direction. Set into the dielectric material of the rotarymember is a contact plate 62 which is adaptedto move beneath a pluralityof individual contact elements 63, 64, 64' and 64" as member 5'8 rotatesin anti-clockwise direction, propelled:by spring 6!, thus successivelyestablishing electric connections between contact elements 63, 64, 64and 64". The purpose and function of these contact elements will bedisclosed presently.

Normally in engagement with ratchet teeth 59 there is an escapementstructure 65 pivoted at 66 and being provided at its left end with atooth "engaging element 61, and at its right end with a toothstopelement GB. The right end of the structure is connected at 5'9 with-thearmature 15 of solenoid H. A spring I2 urges left element 5'! normallyout of engagement with one of the ratchet teeth 59, while right element68 prevents rotation of member 56. Extending through and beyond rotarymember 58 is a pin 13. This pin is engaged at the rear of member 58 by aslotted connecting or operating bar 14, which latter is mounted undertension of spring 15 in a bracket 16, which is pivotally connected at 11with a bell crank lever 18, journaled at 19 and is adapted to bemanually actuated in the direction of the arrow.

Pin 13 of rotary member 58 has for its function to facilitate therotation of member 58 in clockwise direction, against th tensionofspring 6i, and, when thus operated manually, to close 8. normally openswitch mounted in. front of rotary member 58. The clockwise movement ofthat member is caused by an upward movement of bar 14 effected either bya manual or an automatic mechanical operation of bell crank 18, suchmechanical operation being induced by power driven mechanism 54',however, the operation of bar 14 by mechanism 54" is insufficient torotate member 58 far enough to close switch 80.

Referring-now to Fig. 5, this illustration-represents a wiring diagramshowing the electric connections between the coin defining unit and thecoin counter. It will be observed that all exterior blades 20, 3| and 32of coin defining unit switches I9, 29 and 30 are interconnected with oneanother. Likewise all interior switch blades 2|, 33 and 34 are similarlyconnected. Lead 8| from the outer switch blades passes to coin returnsolenoid 50 and from there to one terminal of the sourceof energy. Lead82 passes from the interior switch blades to coin countersoleno'id H andfrom there to the other terminal of the electric source. A lead-83connects leads 8| with one of the switch blades of coin return releaseswitch 80, while the other switch blade is connected with lead 82extending from solenoid 1|.

Contact element 63 of the coin counter is connected by lead 84 to lead82, while contacts 64,64" and 64" are connected by means of amerchandise price setting device, indicated by a circle -85,

through leads 86, 81 and 8B with lead 8|.

operation When coins are deposited in the vending machine and dropthrough the coin defining unit, they actuate lever arms '21 and 36 andtemporarily close and immediately open switches I9, 29 and 30. At theclosing of any one of the three switches solenoid H becomes energized.At each electric impulse passing through the solenoid its armaturecauses escapement 65 to release .rotary member 58 for rotation, inducedby spring 5|, one tooth at a time. Thus when a nickel is dropped throughguide channel l5 of coin defining unit part l3, solenoid H becomesenergized once. When a dime is inserted into channel I6 of coin definingunit part l4 and drops therethrough, solenoid II will be energized twicein succession. Thus when fifteen cents are deposited in the machine, theescapement will be actuated three times, and rotary member 58 willadvance three teeth in anti-clockwise direction.

During this rotation contact plate .62 passes first beneath contactelement 63 and then progresses successively beneath contact element 64,64' and '64". At that position of rotary member 58 the circuitscontrolled by contact elements 64, 64' and 64" are connected and permitthe operation of the vending machine to deliver a piece of merchandisepriced fifteen cents, by the usual, well known means of either pulling alever, depressing a button or the like. Such devices are not illustratedas superfluous, but their operation not only is indicative of the desireto receive the merchandise paid for, but also effects the closing of acircuit controlling the operation of the power driven mechanism 54. Thusthe latter becomes energized and turns one revolution, delivers thepurchased merchandise and causes the operation of bell crank arm 54,which in turn actuates coin release lever 44 in clockwise direction.This movement of lever 44 induces the coin directing vane .to swing tothe left or in anti-clockwise direction, thereby releasing coinretaining disc 38 and permitting the coins resting thereon to dropagainst vane 42 from which it is deflected into the coin receptacle. Atthe same time the upper end of the mechanism 54', shown in Fig. 6, willcause the upward movement of bell crank 18, whereby connecting bar 14engaging pin 73 will turn rotary member 58 in clockwise directionagainst the tension of spring BI and bring it to its normal positionshown in Fig. 5.

When it is decided that the coins deposited in the machine are to bereturned, bell crank 18 is manually operated, whereby connecting bar 14is again elevated and causes rotary member 58 to turn clockwise untilpin 73 closes the contacts of switch 89. By the closing of this switchcoin return solenoid 50 becomes energized, attracts arm 48 of lever 44,moves that lever to the right or in anti-clockwise direction, andthereby causes vane 42 to swing to the right or in clockwise direction.That movement of vane 42 again releases coin rest disc 38, thuspermitting it to swing downwardly to discharge the coins against vane42, which latter directs the coins to a place in the bending machinefrom which the coins may be retrieved.

Having thus described the present invention, what is claimed as newfollows:

1. A combination coin retainer and coin release mechanism, acoin-defining unit comprising a plurality of coin-operated switches,said mechanism having an operating structure comprising a solenoid, asubstantially T-shaped lever formation pivotally supported from the bodyof said coin-defining unit and including a relatively long dependinglever portion with a bifurcated end and two side lever arms extendingfrom the pivotal point of the long lever portion, one of the lever armsconstituting the armature for said solenoid and being adapted, whenattracted by the energized solenoid, to swing the lever formation in onedirection, the other lever arm constituting balancing means for thelever formation, and a pair of pivoted auxiliary balancing armsconnected at their free ends by a tension spring and engaging themovable end of said other lever arm so that said long lever portion isnormally kept in a vertical position; and a coin counter actuated bysaid coin-defining unit and comprising a dielectric rotary disc movablein two directions, a spring biasing the disc to turn in one direction, adielectric pin passing through the disc and extending beyond both facesthereof, one end of the pin being engageable by manually orautomatically operable re-setting means for the disc, adapted, whenactuated, to re-set the disc by turning it in opposite direction, thatis, against the tension of the spring, a normally open switch engageableby the other end of the pin, said switch being electrically connectedwith said solenoid for energizing the latter when closed manually,thereby causing the long depending lever portion to swing in that onedirection;- a bell crank adapted, when operated, to engage said longlever portion and to swing the latter in opposite direction, and a powerdriven mechanism for automatically actuating and releasing said bellcrank and said re-setting means for the coin counter.

2. A combination coin retainer and coin release structure for the use invending machines, such machines including a coin-operated electriccoin-defining unit having a plurality of coinresponsive switches and acoin counter controlled by said unit; said combination structure beingassociated with said unit and comprising a substantially T-shaped,pivoted lever having a de pending central bar, adapted to normallyassume a vertical position, and two side arms extending from the bar andadapted to normally assume a substantially horizontal position, abalancing fixture tensionally engaging one of the side arms forretaining it and the other side arm as well as said central bar in theirrespective normal positions, said other side arm constituting a movablearmature, a solenoid for attracting the latter and thus causing themovement of the T-shaped lever in one direction, a power-drivenoperating mechanism for moving the'lever in opposite direction; acoin-directing unit operable by said central bar for causing either thereturn or the retention of coins passed through said coin-defining unitwhen said lever is actuated by either said solenoid or by said operatingmechanism, respectively; said coin counter having anescapement-controlled rotary disc turnable in two opposite directionsand a pin projecting with both its ends beyond the opposite faces of thedisc; a spring for turning the disc in one direction; means adapted toene gage one end of said pin for turning the disc in opposite directionand being actuable either manually or automatically by said power-drivenmechanism; a normally open switch in the operating path of the other endof the pin and serving, when closed, to energize said solenoid; saidpin-engaging means, when manually operated, causing the pin to closesaid switch, thus effecting the return of coins, and, when automaticallyoperated by said mechanism, causing the re-setting of the disc and theretention of coins, the automatic operation of said pin-engaging meansbeing insufficient however to rotate the disc far enough to close theswitch.

MARIO CARUSO.

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber

